Food Notes for July 8, 2024

Openings

• La Morenita is now open at 8501 118 Avenue. It’s great to have more independent eateries on Alberta Avenue!
• Papa Giuseppe’s Kitchen, an Italian restaurant specializing in Pinsa Romana, opened last week, at 10583 115 Street.
• The first Edmonton location of Japanese cheesecake chain Uncle Tetsu Canada is now open in West Edmonton Mall, across from the Indigo/Starbucks.
• Montreal-based ice cream chain La Diperie has opened in St. Albert. It is located at 11 Bellerose Drive.

Closures

• I was so sad to learn that El Fogon is closing. It’s my go-to for work lunches, and I will miss their excellent arepas. Their last day of operations is July 28.

Local News

• Last Modern Events’ First Cafe is hosting an open house on July 10.
• Three Edmonton restaurants made OpenTable’s Top 100 Restaurants for Outdoor Dining in Canada: Campio, Darling, and Sorrentino’s West.
• Edify checked out Corpuz Bakeshop and La Morenita on Alberta Avenue.
• Edify also profiled Antoine Lavoie of Delavoye Chocolate Maker.
• Also from Edify, they shared some Fav Eats of local notable personalities, including the tequila lime chicken sandwich from The Next Act, avocado toast from Braven, the You Jerk salad from The Greenhouse, the meetball baguette from Banh Mi Cali, and Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine from Abinet.
• The latest issue of Modern Luxuria highlights The Art of Charcuterie.
• Happy fifth birthday to Woodshed Burgers and The Growlery Beer Co.!
• KDays has partnered with several local businesses, including Delavoye Chocolate Maker, Twice Cream, and Doughnut Party to offer free tickets to KDays with the purchase of an identified product.
• It is great to see that the City of Edmonton loosened its rules around food trucks, which now no longer require an additional permit to vend on public land once they are on the Approved Vendor List.
• The Fort Distillery has launched a $1.5 million fundraising campaign on FrontFundr.

What I Ate

• On the same day I learned about El Fogon’s coming closure, my colleagues and I had already planned a picnic in the park with their arepas. It will also not be my last arepa from El Fogon.

Beef and gouda arepa from El Fogon

• I met up with some friends at Bernadette’s for lunch. I had to order the BBQ brisket sandwich, which I so loved from their former Pei Pei Chei Ow menu, and enjoyed on the Bernadette’s dinner menu on my last visit. The portion was very generous; I enjoyed every last bite.

BBQ brisket sandwich

• I was also able to get to Rosewood Foods before the end of YEG Burger Week to try their pho-inspired burger. I loved the flavours, and you can’t beat their house-made buns.

Pho-inspired burger from Rosewood Foods